Snapshots from a life together
by hpjkrowling4ever
Summary: HP/NL, chronological companion story to "A Picture not to forget". Don't you ever wish that you could look back on your life and look a the little snapshots of moments that made you laugh, smile or be grateful for who you had in your life? These are moments from Neville and Harry's life together.
1. Telling the Secret

_A/N:_ _This is a companion to_ _A Picture not to forget_ _. It chronicles Harry and Neville's relationship as it develops. It is a series of_ _ **one-shots**_ _, so no set plot, mainly milestones in their lives._

 _Disclaimer:_ _None of my work belongs to me, it is solely the property of the one and only J.K. Rowling and any other company which has the copyright of Harry Potter, including Warner Bros. Nothing here belongs to me; all the characters are J.K. Rowling's originally, though any new character not part of the Harry Potter series belongs to me._

* * *

 **Title:** Snapshots from a life together

 **Author:** hpjkrowling4ever

Telling the Secret

"What did you want to talk to us about, mate?" Ron asked, standing on his tiptoes to brush a cobweb off the wall of the Charms classroom, one of the few classrooms left intact in the Battle.

Hermione was sitting on a chair, her hands absently twirling her wand around. Sparks shot off the end of it at odd intervals, but otherwise she was silently observing Harry, who was sitting on a desk, his legs swinging back and forth nervously.

"It's about my…er…" Harry paused, not sure what to call what he wanted to talk to them about. Sexual orientation or relationship, which one first?

"Whom you're going out with?" Hermione asked shrewdly, her eyes dancing with amusement. Ron started coughing violently from where he was standing.

"Sort of." Harry answered. "You okay there, Ron?"

"If you're going out with my sister, Harry, I don't want to know." Ron said, shaking himself as if to get rid of an unwelcome thought.

"I'm not, actually. I'm not going to go out with Ginny ever again." Harry answered, looking carefully at Ron for his reaction. His best friend only looked a bit befuddled, before he pulled a chair out to sit beside Hermione.

"What do you mean? I thought you guys were going to get back together when everything was over?" Rona asked, gesturing around the room. Harry sighed.

"I realised a few things once I had a moment to think by myself." Harry answered cryptically. Hermione was peering at him in a way that told him that she would have the answer in seconds.

"Is this anything to do with you accepting your title as Lord Black?" Hermione asked. "And Neville accepting his as Lord Longbottom?"

"That helped."

"Come on, mate, we don't have all day, and you're starting to sound like Dumbledore with all these mysterious replies!" Ron exclaimed. Hermione elbowed him in the ribs. "Hey, what was that for?"

"Can't you tell that Harry's nervous, Ron?" Hermione hissed. "Come on, Harry, we've been through hell and come back out of it alive together. We've slept in the same bed, you and me; no _not that way_ , Ron, don't be _obtuse_ , we were getting over the fact you left us ("Oh," Ron said, at loss for words). And we've told each other pretty much everything. We're not about to leave you now."

"To be honest, it makes my life loads easier if you're not going out with Gin." Ron observed. "Means I don't get conflicting feelings – should I kill him for going out with my sister or let him off because he's my best mate?"

"Thanks for being so magnanimous, Ron." Harry said dryly. Ron rolled his eyes in Harry's direction.

"So what is it?" Hermione asked.

"I'm gay and I'm in a relationship." Harry rushed out.

There was a very palpable silence in the room. Ron looked utterly flabbergasted, and Hermione looked like she was trying to work out how she had never known this before now. Harry was extremely tense and looking at his friends for any reaction other than surprise.

"That was unexpected." Ron finally said. Hermione chuckled and stood up, walking over to Harry. She pushed him over and sat down beside him, wrapping her arm around his shoulders.

"We're not going to stop being your friends. What were you scared of?" she asked.

"You weren't going to be my friends any longer." Harry mumbled. Ron snorted from where he was sitting.

"That's unlikely." A thought seemed to occur to him. "You haven't had a crush on me, have you?"

"Nah, don't worry." Harry waved him off.

"I don't know whether to be offended or not." Ron said, looking at Hermione for answers. She ignored him and turned back to Harry.

"Who's your boyfriend, then?" she asked.

"Neville." Harry whispered. Ron started choking.

"I was in a dorm with two gay people?" he coughed out.

"Four, actually. Dean and Seamus are going out together."

"Dear Merlin, thank goodness I only found out now." Ron had gone very red in the face.

"You and Neville?" Hermione enquired gently. Harry's face broke into a beaming smile, something neither of them had seen for a long time.

"Yeah," Harry breathed. "He's great; we understand each other perfectly. He's such an amazing person. I can't believe I never noticed him earlier."

"I'm really pleased for you, Harry, I really am. You deserve this and much more."

"Wonder how Ginny's going to take it?" Ron asked rhetorically.

* * *

Ginny digested the information very, very slowly. Her eyes looked everywhere except at Harry before they finally rested on him again. She raised an eyebrow and clutched her wand very tightly in her hand.

"You're going out with Neville?" she asked.

"Yes." Harry replied softly. He was standing in front of her, looking like he was expecting her to hex him.

"How long?"

"About two weeks." Harry answered, swallowing.

"Were you leading me on?" Ginny asked angrily.

"No!" Harry exclaimed. "No, Ginny, not at all. I didn't…I mean, I honestly thought you were it for me. But you're not, and I'm sorry that I…well…that I left you hanging for so long after this whole _mess_ ended. I was sorting myself out…and…oh Ginny, we'd never have worked together."

Ginny looked straight at her ex-boyfriend. She loved him, she knew that very clearly. Harry had been her everything for months, the reason she had hung on to hope. Looking at him now, she saw someone who was hurting, angry and in great need of someone who understood him deeply. She saw the way responsibility weighed down on his shoulders. Then she smiled and wrapped her arms around his waist tightly. She felt him freeze up before he tentatively hugged her back. She leant her head on his chest, feeling the muscle and strength beneath her.

"The War changed you and me both. There's things that you have to deal with that I can't fathom and that Neville can obviously do better." She said. "Being your girlfriend would have been hard, but not impossible. I do still love you, Harry, and it will take me a while to get over you."

"I'm really sorry, Ginny, I really am." He kissed the top of her head and she laughed against him chest, briefly.

"Only you would feel guilty about finding happiness."

"I'm feeling guilty because I've caused you pain, Ginny. If only I'd worked myself out sooner…"

"Don't start now, Harry James. I know you, and you were the best boyfriend I ever had while I was at school. You were kind, loyal and understanding. And I can't ask for much else. It's difficult, yes, and it's going to take a while. But I'm old enough to know and understand that life's difficult, life's hard and you're not going to get everything you ever wanted." Ginny pushed herself up a bit and kissed his cheek. "I had some of the best times looking over our memories together during the War. But you're in good hands with Neville. I'd know; he and I were the leaders of the resistance in Hogwarts. So I trust you've done the right thing because I know he'd never hurt me intentionally."

"Thank you, Gin. You've no idea how much your acceptance means to me." Harry whispered, breathing out in relief.

"I'm not a child, Harry, and you're not an object I can possess. You've your own thoughts and feelings and if we'd have ended up hating each other if you found out you were gay when were going out. You've saved us a lot of trouble."

"Should I be worried?" asked a teasing voice from the doorway. Neville was leaning against the doorjamb, his arms crossed over his chest, watching Harry and Ginny's embrace with an easy smile. They both jumped apart with guilty smiles.

"I was saying goodbye to my boyfriend, you idiot." Ginny replied. Neville pushed himself off the door and walked into the room to stand in front of Ginny.

"You're not annoyed? Angry? Do you want to punch me?" he asked.

"I want to punch you and Harry for not sorting yourselves out earlier! My goodness, you'd have saved us an awful lot of trouble." Ginny teased, hugging him tightly and then letting him go. "You take care of Harry; he's my brother now so I have sisterly rights to killing you if you injure him."

"I'll keep that in mind," Neville nodded seriously, walking over to Harry and taking his hand, kissing the palm of it. Ginny smiled softly.

"You'll be good for each other," she murmured to herself as Neville's arm went around Harry's shoulders and they smiled a secret smile at each other. "You'll be better for him than I ever could have been."

* * *

 _A/N:_ _Now wasn't that sensible? I've already got these all written, and because I know that Harry/Neville's not a very popular or well-known pairing, I'm just going to muddle my way through updating this. It should make a certain amount of sense, but don't worry if it doesn't. These are mainly to keep me happy. I love writing sappy pairings._


	2. The Ministry Gala

_Disclaimer:_ _None of my work belongs to me, it is solely the property of the one and only J.K. Rowling and any other company which has the copyright of Harry Potter, including Warner Bros. Nothing here belongs to me; all the characters are J.K. Rowling's originally, though any new character not part of the Harry Potter series belongs to me._

* * *

 **Title:** Snapshots from a life together

 **Author:** hpjkrowling4ever

The Ministry Gala

 _Three months after "Telling the secret",_ _ **August 1998**_

"Why are we doing this again?" Ron groaned, leaning over Harry's shoe rack and holding up a pair of slippers. From where he was lying comfortably on his bed, Harry chuckled and glanced at Neville, who was sitting on the foot of his boyfriend's bed and going through Harry's clothes.

"Because you were the one who didn't want to let me choose the clothes for the Ministry Gala by myself." Harry answered. Neville snorted and looked despairingly over at Harry.

"If we let you choose, you'd let us all down. It's not like you're talking to the whole Wizarding population of Britain or anything." Neville said sarcastically, tapping Harry's ankle in admonishment. Harry rolled his eyes.

"Ginny or Hermione could've helped me." He replied. Ron sat down on the floor heavily.

"Harry, it's your first big public appearance since the War ended _and_ it's with Neville. You're both going to be stepping into the Wizarding World for the first time as celebrities. As much as I love Hermione, and you know I do, I know that she wouldn't have the least idea what the Lord Black and the Lord Potter should wear to something as important as this. And Ginny's distracting her, so that's why she can't be here."

"And I, as the new Lord Longbottom, have been brought up by my Gran to know all of these traditions. And since you're going to be stepping into the public as the Saviour of the Wizarding World _and_ Lord Black _and_ Lord Potter, well, Ron and I are here to make sure that you get it right."

Harry closed his eyes and breathed heavily. After a few moments he cracked one eye open and peered at Neville.

"D'you think I could call in sick?" he queried, looking genuinely interested in the answer. Neville and Ron both rolled their eyes and went back to searching for the perfect outfit.

"I don't understand why what I'm wearing is so important." Harry groaned, sitting up on the bed and looking in horror at all the dress robes that Neville had laid out in front of him.

"Because you want to convey to everyone what your angle is going to be. Are you going to be austere, strong, kind? Are you going to make a good impression?" Ron said. He pulled out a very good pair of leather shoes and smiled triumphantly. "Aha! Here are the shoes, Neville."

"It's not like I'm going to be ruling the Wizarding World or anything." Harry said, looking over at Neville desperately.

"That's just the _point_ , Harry." Neville leant over and squeezed Harry's hand. Harry twined their fingers together and squeezed back. "You will be. Pretty much, anyway. With both the Potter and Black fortunes and influence under your purview and with me as your boyfriend, you have seven seats in the Wizengamot at your disposal. Three for House Black, two for House Potter and two for House Longbottom. You saved the Wizarding World from certain destruction so nobody's ever going to let you get old. That means that you're going to have to be involved in politics, and since nobody's going to dare go up against you, then you're going to have significant influence."

Ron looked around the bedroom in Grimmauld Place distastefully. Though it was a lot better than it had been thanks to Kreacher's renewed enthusiasm, it still left a lot to be desired.

"And once you've finally sorted this place out, and organised the Potter and Black Ancestral Homes, then you've got yourself sorted for life pretty much." Ron walked over to the bed and ran an eye over the dress robes. "That's why you're going to have to be careful with what you wear to the Gala."

"This whole politics malarkey's a load of rubbish." Harry hissed angrily. "I didn't _ask_ to defeat Voldemort, I just _did_ because it was my _duty_."

" _We_ know that Harry. Remember, though, that you _died_ for the Wizarding World, though. That sacrifice will not be forgotten, even though nobody really understands it." Neville whispered. "You walked into the Forbidden Forest ready to prevent lives from being lost and die for everyone's sake, and though we all know what happened, the Wizarding World only knows that you were prepared to do this and the symbolism of that is not lost on everyone, Harry."

"Yeah, mate, Neville's right." Ron reiterated. He looked heavily at the robes and pulled out a long silk one, which made Neville swallow heavily as soon as he saw it. Harry caught sight of the look on his boyfriend's face and smirked widely. Ron looked between Neville and Harry and then moaned, as if in pain.

"You can keep your looks filled with dirty promise between you. Just because I'm okay with you two being together does not mean that you can exchange looks like that." Ron said, looking alarmed. "I think that's sorted, then. I'll leave you two to sort out everything else. Cheerio!" Ron waved his hand absently and walked out of the room.

As soon as Harry heard the Floo chime in the distance he waved his wand and Banished all his clothes except for the silk robe to his and Neville cupboard. He then pulled Neville into a tight hug and tugged him gently into a lying down position, with their backs against the headboard. Neville had his head on Harry's shoulder and Harry's hand was twirling a lock of Neville's hair.

"How could you tell?" Neville asked softly. Harry smiled and kissed the top of his boyfriend's head, pausing for a moment before replying.

"You were really hung up about appearances, and you're not usually like that." Harry turned around so that he was looking at Neville in the eyes. "I know _you_ , Nev, in a way that Ron or anyone else doesn't. And I know when you're worried about something. He ran a finger along Neville's forehead. "You start frowning and you get this anxious look in your eyes, where they start darting around. What's wrong?"

"It's about how everyone's going to react to you and me together." Neville whispered. "This is like an announcement of a betrothal, Harry, stepping out into the Wizarding World with me by your side. It's a big deal. House Longbottom has never been in the limelight so obviously before and I have to represent it. I also have to do you justice, Harry, and what if I don't? What if I mess up?" He looked beseechingly at Harry, who took a deep breath.

"Nev, I love you." Harry squeezed both of Neville's hands emphatically to make a point. "I _love_ you and I don't give a rat's arse what everyone else thinks. You stood up to bloody Voldemort himself, love. If the Wizarding World can't cut you any slack now, then they won't know what hit them. And you've told me that everyone here's a lot more open about homosexuality in the Muggle World because there are blood adoptions and inheritance potions which are the same thing as actually giving birth to the child."

Neville chuckled ruefully.

"You're right. It doesn't stop me from being scared."

"No. And I imagine you were terrified when the Sorting Hat started burning on your head, Nev. A load of bureaucrats has _nothing_ on what you've already been through. And Kingsley will have the head of anyone who so much as breathes incorrectly."

"Kingsley's very fond of you, Harry." Neville mused. It was true. The Minister for Magic had taken on a rather fatherly role in Harry's life, one that had been sorely lacking before. Having had no children himself, Kingsley and his wife had undertaken to make sure that Harry felt comfortable around them, something that Kingsley especially had never been able to do properly during the War. Neville knew how much Harry had come to love and appreciate Kingsley's support in the few months after the War had ended.

"I know, and that's why tomorrow's going to be _our_ day, no matter what I project. And you know, it's not me who's going to have all that influence, Nev. As much as those two titles belong to me, they also belong to you. And Merlin knows that you have a sight more knowledge than I do about Wizarding politics, so you're going to be the one advising me what to do with all that influence you seem to think I have."

"We'll share it, Harry." Neville moved suddenly so that he was straddling Harry. "We're going to share our influence."

Harry wrapped a hand around Neville's neck and started kissing him fiercely.

"I love you, so much."

"So do I."

* * *

Hermione sat down hesitantly on her designated seat and looked up at the rather imposing podium on the raised dais in the Atrium of the Ministry. She knew that thousands of wizards and witches and their families would be listening to the broadcast and the image that each wireless had been charmed to project and in the Ministry alone there were at least two thousand there to listen to her best friend's speech. She had yet to see Harry and Neville and knew that Kingsley would have briefed them exactly on how to make the perfect entrance.

Beside her, she could see Ron pulling at the sleeves of his elegant dress robes. They had had the award ceremony, where anyone who had done anything worthwhile in the War had been given money and awards – including Hermione and Ron – and there had been a very long speech given by Kingsley about exactly what Harry, Ron and Hermione had done. After a lot of deliberation, they had kept the information about the Horcruxes a secret as they were worried what that information leaked out could potentially do. Both Hermione and Ron had given a small speech and had got a standing ovation. Now all that they were waiting for was Harry to appear.

"You think that he was watching?" Ron asked.

"Of course. Kingsley told me that Harry would watch the whole awards ceremony and reading out of the fates of all the Death Eaters and stuff. It's this last bit that Harry will actually be in the room."

"He's going to moan about this for ages. He hates the limelight." Ron pointed out. Hermione nodded.

"He knows that he's got to do this, though. It's important." Hermione answered. Ron chuckled and then his shoulders started shaking.

"It's just that I wonder what his reaction was to finding out that the Lestrange vaults had been transferred to the Black vaults as the Black Family was the last pureblood family with the closest links to Bellatrix." Ron snorted and Hermione had to let out a smile. Harry hated publicity, and the wealth of the Black Family was going to be the talk of the papers.

"Kingsley did try to gloss over all the money given out to everyone, though." Hermione commented. "He must hate all this pomp and ceremony. He's just like Harry, except a bit better at politics."

Suddenly, the Atrium went completely quiet as Kingsley stepped up onto the podium.

"Everyone, if I could have your attention please." The last few people talking went deathly silent.

"Everyone knows the debt that we owe Harry Potter. I don't need to tell you all again. So without further ado, I give to you Harry Potter, Saviour of the Wizarding World and his partner Neville Longbottom!" Kingsley stepped aside and Harry walked up onto the platform with Neville standing right beside him.

Hermione got to her feet and vaguely saw people around her doing the same. Neville and Harry made a powerful sight, standing up there, dressed to match. Among the clapping and the cheering, Hermione could hear muttering among the crowd about Neville; something she knew that they had both expected.

Harry stepped forward to the podium and held up his hands for silence. The whole room sat back down and there wasn't a sound to be heard.

"Thank you." Harry's voice rang out, strong, echoing. There was a confidence to it that Hermione had never heard before and she glanced at Ron.

"There are many people who should be up here with me, who should be in this room with me. But since I am the person up here instead of them, I will say what I think they would want to hear." Harry looked around the room, and Hermione could almost imagine him thinking of Sirius, Remus, Fred, Hedwig, Tonks, Moody, all those who had died to help defeat Voldemort.

"Thank you to all the people who gave their lives for this cause. No words convey the depth of my feelings for all of you. Families torn apart, families left without fathers, sons, mothers, daughters, and siblings; I know how you feel. My family was torn apart by Lord Voldemort and I pledge to you that I will make the Wizarding World a better place for you. This is especially for my godson Teddy Lupin, who lost both his father and mother. You all _died_ to make this a better place for your loved ones, and your sacrifice is _not_ in vain.

"I pledge my support to a better world. I know that that's it's not immediate, and that human nature is going to get in our way, but I invite _all_ of you out there to help rebuild our system so that we can work in a better environment and prevent such horrors happening ever again. I will do my very best to give justice to those who gave up their lives for this.

"Most of all though, I would like to tell you that everyone here is a hero. You all fought for something you believed in and lived to tell the tale. That is what makes you a hero above all. You _fought_ for something you wanted, whether it be selfish or no, and you've come out of it. So I thank you."

Harry inclined his head and stepped backwards, reaching out for Neville's hand. Neville took it and Hermione knew that everyone clapping for Harry was irrelevant to him. All that mattered to her friend was that Neville was there to support him. And her and Ron, but Neville had a higher priority now, and Hermione accepted that.

* * *

Later, those with the exclusive invitations filed into the Ministry ballroom for the most important part of the evening. Dancing had always been a very important tradition for wizards and witches, Harry knew, and as he would be opening the dance, he knew that the responsibility on his shoulders was quite large.

Beside him, Neville twined their fingers together and leaned over to whisper something in Harry's ear.

"Don't step on my feet."

Harry chuckled feebly, understanding Neville's desire to calm Harry down. He brushed imaginary dust off his shoulder and Neville's robes and then nodded at Kingsley.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, I welcome you to the official celebration of Lord Voldemort's demise!" Kingsley announced, his voice booming out and echoing in the large ballroom. Everyone with a glass raised it to the ceiling, echoing Kingsley's words. "Harry Potter to open the dance!"

Harry stepped forward with Neville on his arm. They bowed deeply to each other and waited for the music to start. Harry was acutely aware of the eyes boring into him and Neville, but as soon as the music started they faded into the background.

He and Neville had practiced this dance for hours before the Gala, until Harry knew the steps so well he could have done them in his sleep. He led Neville through the intricate moves, holding his boyfriend's hand in his and looking deep into his eyes.

"I love you, Nev." Harry murmured. Neville's eyes shone brightly in the light of the ballroom and defying all of the dancing etiquette there had ever been in the Wizarding World, he stopped and pulled Harry to him.

With the cream of Wizarding Britain watching, Neville Longbottom kissed Harry Potter, announcing his intentions loud and clear.

* * *

 _A/N:_ _I'm just going to leave it at that then!_


	3. The First Argument

_Disclaimer:_ _None of my work belongs to me, it is solely the property of the one and only J.K. Rowling and any other company which has the copyright of Harry Potter, including Warner Bros. Nothing here belongs to me; all the characters are J.K. Rowling's originally, though any new character not part of the Harry Potter series belongs to me._

* * *

 **Title:** Snapshots from a life together

 **Author:** hpjkrowling4ever

The First Argument

 _This takes place in_ _ **November 1999**_ _, a year and three months after 'The Ministry Gala'_

In retrospect, Harry should not have started talking about Bellatrix. Neville didn't mind him talking about Sirius, because Neville and Harry talked about their losses all the time, but Bellatrix was this one topic that Neville refused to visit.

They were sitting in the cosy drawing room of Longbottom Manor, which they had moved into not long after the Ministry Gala, when Harry had started talking about Bellatrix. It hadn't started out as a conversation about Bellatrix, only about Narcissa, but it had moved onto her and before Harry knew it, Neville was standing up looking furious.

"I _know_ that _she_ killed Sirius, but I don't ever want to hear about her here. Ever. Do you understand? My _parents_ , my _parents_ could have had a life but for her! They were tortured into insanity by Bellatrix Lestrange. I don't know what that means to you, Harry, but I'm not going to sit here and listen to you talk calmly about Bellatrix!"

Harry burst up from his stupor induced by his boyfriend's uncharacteristic tantrum. He rose from the sofa, his hands white.

"Are you suggesting that your loss mattered more than my loss?" Harry ran a ragged hand through his hair. "We can't just _compare losses_ , Nev. We've both lost so much, and I'll admit that Bellatrix dealt you a pretty horrific hand, but that's not to diminish the pain she dealt to other people. And I _don't_ want to shut it up and let it fester, Nev, which is what you're doing." Harry said pointedly, looking his boyfriend up and down. Neville narrowed his eyes.

"Are you _really_ going to play that card on me, Harry? The concerned, practical boyfriend?" Neville's chest was heaving. Harry took a step forward, his hand outstretched, but Neville took a step backwards away from Harry, who tried not to let it show how much that hurt him. "Now's not the time."

"Neville, I know that you're mad with worry about your mother's flu, but yelling about Bellatrix isn't going to help matters." Harry said. "Bellatrix tortured your parents into insanity. Voldemort killed my parents. Bellatrix also killed Sirius. Then Remus died. Oh, Nev, I _know_ your pain, inside and out. I've felt it. I don't remember my parents as they were, and you probably don't either. But you've grown up on stories about them. I've got vague memories of "Harry, Mama loves you. Harry, Papa loves you." Then, whenever – actually, I can't even say that anymore." Harry cut himself off, wiping angry tears from his eyes.

"Constantly held up as a failure next to my father's achievements? Is that what you call stories?" Neville had turned to face the fireplace, where a photograph of them dancing at the Ministry Gala was placed.

"No, no, Nev. But you've told me there were stories. Bloody Pensieve memories." Harry tapped his knee. "We're nineteen, Nev. Too old to be arguing about this."

"Too young, Harry. We're too young to be arguing about this." Neville said softly. "Too young to have felt this kind of loss! Bloody buggering _hell_ , why did you bring Bellatrix up?" Then, with sudden violence, he pushed the framed photograph of him and Harry to the floor, where it crashed. Harry ran over to it and turned the frame over with gentle hands.

" _Reparo_ ," he whispered, and watched as the frame mended itself. " _What_ in Merlin's name was that about, Neville? Care to explain yourself?"

Neville looked shell-shocked, but recovered himself after a moment.

"I'm sleeping in the guest bedroom tonight."

* * *

It was odd to be sleeping in a bed without Neville. They had been sleeping in a bed together ever since they had started going out properly almost a year and a half ago. Harry moved around restlessly before deciding that sleep was pointless. He wrapped a dressing gown around himself, belatedly realising that it was Neville's, and tiptoed softly down the corridor. Not that anyone would hear him, no. Longbottom Manor was so large that his footsteps would have been lost.

He peeked into the guest bedroom and saw Neville spread out on the bed, breathing heavily.

 _At least he's getting some sleep_ , Harry thought, sighing. He wrapped his boyfriend's dressing gown tighter around himself and headed down the stairs to the kitchen. Just as he was pulling out a pan, a house elf, Dolly, appeared beside him, making him jump.

"Dolly! You scared me."

"Dolly is sorry for disturbing Master Harry." Dolly said, bowing briefly. She made up one of the many house elves working on Longbottom Manor, keeping it in shape for when it would finally be in use again. "Dolly be coming because Master Harry must not be making food by himself. Dolly will help."

"That's not necessary, thank you, Dolly." Harry smiled reassuringly to show her that it was nothing personal. "I can't sleep so I'm going to make myself some warm milk."

"Dolly be hearing Master Neville and Master Harry's argument." Dolly wagged a finger at Harry, who, for all his nineteen years, felt suddenly very small in the face of the old house elf. "Dolly be thinking all humans foolish!"

"I love Neville very, very much. He's hurting at the moment and I'm the best person he has to take out that hurt on."

"Dolly does not want Master Harry to forget that he be hurting as well." With that, Dolly bowed to him and with a quiet crack, disappeared.

Harry thought upon Dolly's words as he made his warm milk. Cooking, or simply being at a stove, had always soothed Harry in a way that he didn't quite understand. It made him feel quieter, calmer. He sometimes wondered if, without Snape's influence, he would have been quite good at Potions.

 _I might experiment in one of the labs in the Manor,_ Harry thought, _If Neville decides that he's going to keep me._

As much as Harry felt solid in his relationship, this argument had really shaken him. He knew, logically, that it was only a response to the news they had received earlier that week that Neville's mother had caught the flu, but he loved his boyfriend and the fact that they had gone to bed with unresolved tension between them rankled. Harry lived in constant fear that the people he loved would inexplicably be stolen away from him, like Sirius or Remus, his parents, all had been. Now he had Neville, he didn't want to lose him.

His milk started boiling violently and Harry quickly took it off the stove. He had let it boil for a bit too long. As he poured it into his 'special' mug, the one Neville had given him for his birthday, he wondered if maybe he should go to bed with Neville. Would that be a good idea, or would he be hexed into the next world?

Harry drank down his milk and washed up the mug, leaving it out to dry overnight. He tried to avoid doing too much magic for daily tasks, lest he become too dependent on it. Sighing, he put his hands into the pockets of his dressing gown and walked back to his room, this time not looking into the guest bedroom again.

That was why, when he entered his and Neville's room, he almost cried out as he caught sight of Neville sitting on the bed, looking contrite.

"I thought you were asleep." Harry said, slipping out of the dressing gown and moving hesitantly towards Neville. He sat down beside his boyfriend very slowly, as if approaching a spooked horse.

"I was, but then I heard you walk past. I'm a light sleeper." Neither of them needed to acknowledge why. "I didn't mean to eavesdrop on yours and Dolly's conversation, but what she said made me think."

"House elves are some of the wisest creatures I know." Harry said wisely, nodding. "Dobby disregarded my command given to him years ago to never save me again, just so that he could save me."

"I realised that I shouldn't try to diminish your losses, Harry, and I'm sorry that I even thought about it. Bellatrix did something terrible to me, but she also did something terrible to you. It's just…I'm going to lose my parents twice."

And Harry wrapped his arms around Neville, and then Neville wrapped his arms around Harry and no one knew who was comforting whom anymore, they were just a tangle on the bed, tears sliding unbidden down their cheeks.

But though they were both hurting, they were hurting together, and that was the best way to deal with it.

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 _A/N:_ _Maybe I went a bit too overboard? It'd be wonderful to hear from people reading this!_


	4. Sanctuary

_Disclaimer:_ _None of my work belongs to me, it is solely the property of the one and only J.K. Rowling and any other company which has the copyright of Harry Potter, including Warner Bros. Nothing here belongs to me; all the characters are J.K. Rowling's originally, though any new character not part of the Harry Potter series belongs to me._

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 **Title:** Snapshots from a life together

 **Author:** hpjkrowling4ever

Sanctuary

 _This takes place in_ _ **March 2000**_ _, four months after 'The First Argument'_

In the year and seven months after the Ministry Gala, Harry Potter had indeed managed to change the world.

Neville, after much reflection, had decided to hand over the running of the Longbottom seat to Harry, who, with his extensive influence, would always have a second House backing him up. In addition to the Black and Potter seats in the Wizengamot, this would make Harry almost invincible politically, and it gave Neville the chance to devote himself entirely to his plants.

Neville turned an large, unused wing in the massive Longbottom Manor into a stunning greenhouse, complete with such exotic and dangerous plants that he had to appeal to the famed Newt Scamander's grandson Rolf for help in finding house-elves who would dare to care for them. He converted the garden into a palace of rare and beautiful plants, all with additional medicinal or other magical properties. Longbottom Manor's greenhouse and gardens started generating quite the income, and Neville adored working in them.

Harry, meanwhile, had used the seven seats available to him to his advantage, passing laws which allowed freer, equal rights to creatures such as vampires, Veela and werewolves, establishing multiple wizarding primary school for magical children, creating a book which wrote down names of Muggleborn children and gave their parents time to prepare. After much debating, a law had only been passed in January 2000 allowing the general wizarding public to vote in representatives into the Wizengamot. Kingsley sat down with other department heads and carved up Magical Britain and Northern Ireland into magical counties with a main wizarding village where a governor would be appointed, whom the people would elect and who would be the representative in the Wizengamot sessions. New, small councils would be opened in each county, which then opened up a lot of jobs for the magical community.

Neville rose slowly from where he had been watering some Devil's Snare when he heard the doorbell chime. Harry had been gone since January, setting up these councils and magical communities in each county along with Kingsley. Neville received daily owls updating him on the progress they were making, or just to have a general rant about how much he missed Neville and Longbottom Manor and how much he hated politicians. Neville always laughed when he read the rants, wondering if Harry realised that he was turning into quite the politician. Neville did not wait for a house-elf to come to him and tell him who had rung; instead curiosity drove him to wash his hands, pull off his apron and head to the foyer of Longbottom Manor.

"Hermione?" Neville asked in surprise when he caught sight of their visitor. " _Malfoy_?"

"Neville," Hermione started, stepping forward, "Neville, Malfoy has something to say to you."

Neville nodded tersely, pulling himself together, and gestured for them to follow him into the rather grand Receiving Room. His grandmother had furnished it to intimidate her business and political guests, and Neville could see that it intimidated Hermione slightly. She had only ever been invited into the more cosy parts of Longbottom Manor, those that Harry and Neville and refurbished together. Neville had fond memories of Harry's only stipulation when creating those rooms: they had to feel like a _home_ , and he had had great fun trying to help his boyfriend turn them into just that. Now, at twenty-one, Longbottom Manor felt more like a home than it had ever felt in his youth.

"Why are you here?" Neville asked, lacking the political _finesse_ that he knew Harry had gained from his time in the Wizengamot. He saw Hermione wince, confirming that his bluntness was very much unappreciated. Neville didn't care; he hated the Malfoy Family and felt that Harry's defence of them at their trial was all the contact they should ever have with them.

"I want to ask for Sanctuary," Malfoy said, evidently destroying all of Hermione's planned speeches, if her glare was anything to go by. Neville leant back in one of the seats and looked at Malfoy in astonishment.

Sanctuary was a very old pureblood law, one that Harry had not tried to attack. In fact, Neville knew that Harry had yet to touch the list of ancient pureblood laws that every pureblood Heir was required to know. His boyfriend had the law book in his office in Longbottom Manor, and had colour-coded it according to which laws he wanted obliterated and which laws he wanted to keep. Such was the influence of Harry Potter that he could do this; Neville knew that eventually Harry would withdraw from politics, but he wanted to leave as fair a society as possible as his legacy.

Sanctuary was one of those laws which propagated the pureblood system of hierarchy and alliance. If one pureblood family felt threatened by something, their Family Head would seek Sanctuary with a prominent and influential pureblood family, thus gaining an alliance and immunity against attack. They were required to give something in return, but unless there was a very good reason, no pureblood family could refuse a request for Sanctuary.

To stall for time, Neville asked,

"Why did you bring Hermione with you? Surely the Junior Undersecretary for the Minister is not needed in a matter of Sanctuary."

"It's on the Minister's orders that I've applied for Sanctuary," Malfoy retorted.

" _What_?" Neville was absolutely flabbergasted, and he knew that it showed. "What in Merlin's name would prompt the _Minister_ to make _you_ ask for Sanctuary?"

"To prevent the Malfoy name from being destroyed," Malfoy answered. Neville looked at him carefully; he knew that there was nothing worse for a family like Malfoy's than to lose their family name, and with it, thousands of years of history. It meant the destruction of the family ancestral home, and with it all the ancestral records. Now that he looked close enough, Malfoy looked slightly desperate.

"They want to destroy Malfoy Manor?"

"Yes," Hermione answered, regaining some of her decorum. "It is impossible to get rid of all the taint of Dark Magic that has been absorbed into Malfoy Manor due to the Lord Voldemort's stay in it. As such, the magical inhabitants of Wiltshire have petitioned the Minister to pull it down, saying that this new dawn of the Wizarding World must not allow for such abominations."

Malfoy looked rather ill, and Neville felt quite sorry for him. This demand for Sanctuary had Harry's fingerprints all over it, and it was a very clever move, one that Neville had to congratulate his boyfriend for. Malfoy already owed Harry a Life Debt from the War. Harry had repaid Narcissa Malfoy's Life Debt to the full by allowing the Malfoy Family to walk free; Sanctuary meant that the Malfoy Family would be further beholden to Harry – a very clever political move. The Malfoy Family still commanded respect from the other Dark pureblood families, who had all been able to escape losing their familial wealth by using the Malfoys as an example in their defence statements. For no family could be imprisoned if the family who had housed Lord Voldemort was allowed to walk free with only their vaults dented and their head of house on house arrest. The Nott Family, the Crabbe Family, the Goyle Family, the Flint Family, the Greengrass Family; all had been able to walk free, their heads of house stripped of their power and the Heirs installed as the heads of house, with heavy fines, but all walked free, their ancestral homes intact. If Harry managed to command the favour of the Malfoy Family, to whom all those other families owed their release to, then those families would fall under Harry's power as well. It was a masterstroke, and one that would enable Harry to pass his laws that destroyed the ancient pureblood laws he disliked so.

Neville knew that Malfoy was aware of this, but he also knew that Malfoy would have no choice but to come to the Longbottom Family for help. The Potter and Black ancestral homes were still in need of refurbishment, but asking the Longbottom Family for help did not make as strong a political statement as asking Harry Potter for help. Harry was, naturally, affiliated with Neville because he not only commanded the Longbottom vote, but was also Neville's boyfriend. However, by asking Neville for help it was entirely Neville's decision, as Head of the Longbottom Family, to grant Malfoy's request for Sanctuary, and it was a decision that could not be forced by Harry. The Longbottom Family, by its association with Harry, was the next most powerful Family in the Wizengamot. Families such as the Bones Family and the Lovegood Family had nowhere near the amount of influence that the Longbottom Family wielded. Sanctuary meant housing Malfoy in Longbottom Manor for at least two months, which then granted Malfoy political immunity; the Malfoy ancestral home was untouchable after asking for Sanctuary. This was the one thing that made Neville reluctant to agree.

"You are Head of the Malfoy Family, correct?" he asked. Malfoy nodded. "Where are your parents? I know that they are not dead."

"Per the decision reached at the trial, my father, being one of the most powerful Death Eaters, is exiled in France, where he lives in the Malfoy chateau in the south of France. He has been banned from participating in any politics. My mother is currently with him. If you grant me Sanctuary, I will order them to remain there."

Neville nodded. He had no intention of housing Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy in Longbottom Manor.

"Is there no way you can get rid of the Dark Magic inside Malfoy Manor?"

"Ollivander has said that he could try, but since he has no apprentice to take over the shop for him, he is unable to devote large amounts of time to it, especially since he was imprisoned there," Malfoy said bitterly. Neville could see how the rash decisions that his parents had made in their youths – the choice to follow Lord Voldemort – weighed on him. "My parents are searching for a professional in France, but that could take years. The Malfoys are not a popular Family in France – or anywhere, for that matter." Malfoy ran a hand through his hair, ruffling it. That, more than anything, told Neville how unhappy Malfoy was.

"Can the Ministry not do anything?" Neville asked, reluctant to understand why the Ministry could not devote some spell weavers to do the job. Furthermore, there was a colony of professional spell weavers living in Belfast that would probably love to study the power of the most feared Dark Lord's magic.

"Only after a period of Sanctuary. There is a cost to hiring spell weavers, Longbottom," Malfoy snarled, "One that will be difficult for my Family to pay to the Ministry if the threat of bringing down Malfoy Manor is still so strong. Only after my house is granted immunity will I be able to proceed and ask the Ministry for help."

Neville knew then that he had no choice. He was amazed at Harry's forward-thinking, and the way that he had secured himself a voting bloc who would otherwise have voted against the motion to destroy ancient pureblood laws. Harry was changing the Wizarding World quickly, it was true, but Neville knew that Harry had a vision in his mind, one which would not be pulled down. It was the only reason that his boyfriend had taken politics so seriously. He needed a secure world; he needed the assurance that there would be no more little boys whose lives were dictated by the number of deaths he could prevent, no more boys unaware of magic, no more little boys who had to be old before their time. It was a powerful vision, and one that Neville loved his boyfriend for having.

"I, Lord Longbottom, Head of House Longbottom, do grant thee, Lord Malfoy, Head of House Malfoy, Sanctuary as befitting those ancient laws written by those our ancestors, for the written period of two months. So I say, so shall it be!" Neville clapped his hands together, and a strong blue light spread around Malfoy before dissipating. Around Malfoy's wrist was a bracelet, a Sanctuary bracelet, which every Ancient and Noble Family possessed. Malfoy stood up and bowed deeply, a look of relief on his face.

Neville smiled slightly in reply. Despite his distaste for Draco Malfoy, he loved his boyfriend and knew that he wanted Harry's vision to become reality almost as much as his boyfriend wanted it.

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 _A/N: I hope that this chapter fulfilled any expectations!_


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